More on Willow Lane

I have to confess I am starting to feel a little nervous at the state of our home in Willow Lane.  Jess sent me more photo's last night and some of them are certainly a puzzle to me.  That though is not my concern, it is rather the blank brick walls, the holes in walls and the lack of both ceiling and roof in certain areas of the house.

As with the rest of South Africa, there is at present a cold front passing over the country which is leaving many of us shivering and shaking in the early mornings and at night.  Last night when I phoned Johan he told me that he was considering bathing in his clothes as the wind was whipping up around him and making the water decidedly cold within minutes.   He had gathered fire wood and contemplated making a roaring fire in the fireplace in the lounge....the only drawback to doing that is that the guard we had for the fireplace has disappeared!!!!!  Not wanting to have smoke and ash blowing back down the chimney and into the house, stopped him from actually lighting the match to new found comfort and warmth.  This morning he was keen to stay under the covers for the rest of the day, but after a while decided maybe it would be a good idea to put a temporary ceiling in the bathroom so that at least tonight he will not get a draft up his shaft, as he so aptly put it.

Whatever the state of the house at the present time though, Johan has a plan and I trust him.  He learned how to build and plumb and feed through electrical wires at the feet of his father and I know that with Wilfred's help Willow Lane will one day be a 'palace'.  The photo's below tell a tale of their own....

 The main bedroom...what looks like a door way is actually where the chimney used to be.  Apparantly it was built directly underneath the roof trusses. Note the support erected to hold up the beams

 The main bedroom shown from the other side as last time.  The front verandah is on the right - not shown

 The front verandah...the old wooden ceiling has been removed.  Keen to know if the wood is rotten or saveable.

 The front view of the main bedroom...the verandah  is just to the right of the photo

 Ahemmm...lots of rubble on the front lawn!!!!

 The back passage...ceiling removed.  Note the geyser, I hope it is well hooked up!!!

 Underneath the photo above.  This looks into the back bedroom opposite the main bedroom.  The door frame has been removed.  The floor from this entire section of house has to be lifted as it is below the outside.  This is the reason the back section of the house is always damp.  The passage wall behind where Jess was standing has also been removed and is at present, 'open plan'

 To the left of the photo above showing further down the passage...

 The chimney area...to the right leads into the ensuite dressing room

 A view of the front of the house from the side...the front verandah is on the left and the living area of the house to the right of that...

While the Cat's Away......

Johan has been back in KZN going on two months now and it appears that when he is bored he breaks down a little more of our house.....

The idea was that while he is there and before we move back, he renovate!!!!!!  Renovate being the operative word I think. I do seem to remember him saying something a few weeks ago about how Wilfred likes to destroy and every day that he arrives home after a days work, there are bigger holes and more rubble.  Not being there to see for myself though it is difficult to visualize what is happening.

Well within minutes this evening I had two messages come through to my phone...one from Sara and one from Jess.  Both have been to Willow Lane today and both are intrigued by what is going on.  Sara's response to it all is that at least Wilfred is guaranteed of a job for a while!!!!!!

Here are some photo's that Jess sent...not all great but anyway you will get an idea.....and hopefully sometime soon there will be some progress photos to show....lol

 Matthew and Johan checking something... from the front of the house looking onto the verandah.  Plaster removed from wall.  Gutters Removed.  Eaves coming down Some roof tiles removed to reveal trusses.

 The end of the house is just a shell.  This is the dressing room off the main bedroom. Everything removed - fittings, flooring and plaster

 The ensuite bathroom...also stripped.  This is the outlet pipe for the toilet.

 Looking from the dressing room to the main bedroom.  There was a huge fireplace and chimney which has been removed - hence the pile of bricks.  The ceiling has also been removed.

 The bathroom...the bath used to be against the end wall (right hand side wall)

 This photo is a mystery...lol...not too sure where this one is

 I think this is the ceiling of the front verandah...being removed to reveal the trusses and roof tiles

 Looking up at the roof extension over the french door in the bedroom

 Taken from the side of the house...I think again!!!!  This is the outside of the bedroom

Front view of the extension leading into the bedroom

Womans Day and the 'Charitea'

Womans Day was the 9th August and although we never get involved with celebrations of any kind for our numerous public holidays, this particular day NiQi was invited to be photographer for a charity event, as well as to deliver a speech.  The money collected was to be donated to the Organ Donor Foundation which is having a huge awareness campaign throughout this month too.  As you may know if you have read previous blogs of mine, it was the same day that we put our foal, Titan, down....a very sad day for us indeed.

Anyway NiQi was quite oblivious to any of the events leading up to me fetching her from work and only heard about it on the way to the event after our vet phoned my cell phone several times.  We arrived in Johannesburg just after 1pm and met Fawn, a fellow cystic fibrosis patient and lung transplant recipient.  Fawn was the organiser of the event and if what we saw when we arrived was anything to go by, it promised to be a great time.

While Fawn and her team of ladies finished setting up before all the ladies arrived, NiQi started taking photos.  The colour scheme was black and white and the invitation had said we should dress like a lady.  Having been outside from early morning and given just 15 minutes to have a 'spring clean' and get dressed, I ended up choosing to wear a thin cotton summer dress.  Lucky I thought to grab a short sleeve blouse to wear unbuttoned over it should the weather change....well that may have been my thought at the time, but I did not allow for Johannesburg not being as warm as we were.  I FROZE the whole afternoon.....Jo'burgers arrived dressed to the nines in their winter attire and were obviously not going to be cold at all.  Anyway, mind over matter, I told myself every time I felt a chill going down my spine that it wasn't that bad and I survived until I got in the car to come home and could put the heater on to warm up.

The theme of the tea was obviously about organ donation and the idea was to get as many to sign up as organ donors as possible.  The eats were heavenly...all finger foods...deliciously divine...  There were 2 speakers, NiQi who spoke on the aspect of waiting for an organ donor and how her life has changed in recent years since realizing that to survive she needs a lung transplant; and Alice, who spoke post transplant and how she has received new life since her transplant.

After the speeches there was anticipated expectation of receiving a lucky draw gift.  NiQi and I didn't receive one but that didn't matter as the goody bags that were handed out were 'gift' enough.  We left to come home much later than I had hoped.  If you know me, then you know that our animals come first in my mind as they cannot fend for themselves, so arriving home as darkness was approaching, I had to quickly whip round and check everyone was still alright as well as feed the brood.  After the events of the previous evening and the morning before we left, I must admit the break was welcome and I did enjoy myself.   Fawn managed to get many of the ladies to sign up as organ donors which was great and after listening to both NiQi and Alice speaking, I think that some of them were given a new appreciation for life and saw things from a different perspective.